MARK DREYFUS MP

Time is running out for the government to confirm additional funding for Legal Aid to accompany cross-examination reforms that are due to be put to the House of Representatives for a vote later this morning.

The government's attempt to ram its family court bills through the Parliament with inadequate consultation has been stymied not by Labor, but by the rules of the Senate.

Late on Thursday night, under the cover of leadership chaos, government members of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee did an astonishing thing - they voted to overrule the democratic will of the Senate.

Labor welcomes the landmark Justice Report published by the Law Council today.

Labor welcomes the government's belated release of a key consultants report relevant to its planned restructure of the Family Court, after repeated requests from Labor and stakeholders.

In an extraordinary report tabled today, the Governments own Senators have joined Labor in calling for a guarantee of additional funding for Legal Aid before a bill to ban the direct cross-examination of domestic violence survivors is passed through Parliament.

Labor welcomes the governments belated announcement that it will introduce legislation to prevent domestic violence victims from being cross-examined by their abusers.

Labor is calling on the Government to match our commitment of $25 million to establish a Corporate Crime Taskforce, to equip the Commonwealth Public Prosecutor to respond to recommendations for criminal prosecution which stem from the Banking Royal Commission.

The Turnbull Government must show it is serious about stopping Japan's proposal to lift the global moratorium on commercial whaling by sending a senior Minister to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to tackle the issue head on.

Labor welcomes today's announcement by Australia, the United States and Japan of a trilateral partnership to invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region.